The authors investigated the hypotheses that the pericardial fluid is enriched with microRNAs (miRNAs) secreted by the heart and that it mediates vascular responses through exosome exchange of miRNAs. [Mol Ther]
Full Article

The authors report a novel role of conceptus-derived exosomes/microvesicles (EVs) in embryo-endometrial cross-talk. They also demonstrate the stimulatory effects of EVs derived from porcine trophectoderm-cells on various biological processes including the proliferation of maternal endothelial cells, potentially promoting angiogenesis. [Sci Rep]
Full Article

Scientists used pterostilbene as a tool to induce vascular endothelial cell (VEC) autophagy and identified the differentially expressed genes using high-throughput DAN microarray. The small GTPase Ras-related protein in brain 13 (Rab13) was found to be the most significantly up-regulated gene in pterostilbene-treated human umbilical VECs. [Biochim Biophys Acta]
Abstract

To ascertain the roles of endothelial HIF-1 α in the responses of brain microvascular endothelial cells and neuronal precursors to hypoxia, investigators examined the effects of the presence and absence of endothelial HIF-1 α expression in culture and in cells comprising the subventricular zone and dentate gyrus under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. [Lab Invest]
Abstract

The authors focus on invasive extracellular pathogens, such as Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, group B Streptococcus and Escherichia coli, to review the obstacles that bacteria have to overcome in order to invade the meninges from the bloodstream, and the specific skills they have developed to bypass the blood–brain barrier. [Nat Rev Microbiol]
Abstract

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Hutchison China MediTech Limited announced that data from the ongoing Phase I/II clinical trial of fruquintinib in combination with paclitaxel in second-line patients with advanced gastric cancer will be presented. [Press release from Hutchison China MediTech Limited discussing research to be presented at 2017 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, San Francisco]
Press Release

ForSight VISION4 announced that it has been acquired by Roche Holdings Inc. The acquisition expands Roche’s exclusive access to the ForSight VISION4 PDS technology for long acting delivery of therapeutics to the eye. [ForSight VISION4, Inc. (PR Newswire Association LLC.)]
Press Release

Hutchison China MediTech Limited announced that it has initiated a Phase II study of a combination therapy using fruquintinib and Iressa® in the first-line setting for patients with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in China. Fruquintinib is a highly selective and potent oral inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors. [Hutchison China MediTech Limited]
Press Release

Could US president-elect Donald Trump be close to choosing a leader for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)? Current NIH chief Francis Collins and Representative Andy Harris (Republican, Maryland), both front-runners for job, met separately with Trump, as did billionaire surgeon Patrick Soon-Shiong. Several people familiar with the Collins and Harris meetings described them as job interviews. [Nature Breaking News]
Editorial

Following a public consultation in November 2015, the European Commission has released a new communication intended to clarify some lingering questions about the EU’s Orphan Regulation. The consultation sought to address five issues that have arisen since the Orphan Regulation came into effect in January 2000. [Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society]
Editorial

One of the world’s most influential global health charities says that the research it funds cannot currently be published in several leading journals, because the journals do not comply with its open-access policy. [Nature News]
Editorial